Parachute



E. R. CALTHROP.

- PARACHUTE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8. I 9l 9.

1,369,395. "Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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v 'INVENTUR'.

E. R. CALTHROP.

PARACHUTE.

' A-PPucmoN FILED SEPT. 8,v I919.

1,369,395. Patented Feb. 22,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

STATES PMENIflOPfFICE;

: EVERARD RIGHAR DI cAr'rnnor, or tonnoiv nnenn nbi Assfcrnon "r0 1&13.1 i CAL'IHROPSAERIAL PATENTS LIMITEDFOFLONDQN, ENGLA D. f

rnnncnu'rn To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EVERARD ofMiddlesex, England, have invented new and useful Improvements Relatingto Parachutes, of which the following is aspecification. a g c j r Thisinvention relates to parachutes of the kind adapted to be carried in acontainer secured to the person of the aviator.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient deviceflexible and cushion-like as to its mass and its container more readilystowable and not subject to indentation from rough usage as is the casewith metal containers whereby a parachute may be carried byan aviator insuch a manner that in an'emergency it will be instantly launched andwhen used with an aeroplane from either side of the fuselage to supportthe aviator and permit of an easy andsafe descent to the ground.

According to the present invention the deviceis adaptedto be secured tothe personofand carried directly by the -aviator .knapsack fashion forwhich purpose its resihency and flexibility renders it particularlysuitable. A two part casing or container is provided the lower part of'which is secured to the harness worn by the aviator while the upperportion of said casing is attached by an appropriate connection to asuitablepart of the aeroplane. The two part casing or container isconstructed of flexible material such. as rubbered fabric which may ifdesired be reinforced by means of wires or otherwise. The mouth of theupper portion of the container is rendered rigid such as by means of anannular member which may be constituted by a metal tube or the like andthe lower part is adapted to overlap said annular member in such amanner as to insure a Weather tight joint. 7

The parachute employed in connectlon with the present invention issubstantially 7 Specificationbf Letters Patent. I Application filedSeptemberB, 1919; Serial No. 322,496.-

RICHARD the aviator beingalso shown. I GALTHROP, a subject of the'Iilll' of Great 7 Britain, residing at London, in the county to, theaviators harness ijwhilezthe upperv portion 2 is adapted for attachmentto the aircraft such as bymeans of a :rope 5e11- gaged with thesuspension member fi. The edges of the two portions of the container areoverlapped when in operative relation to each other to form aweathertight joint as will be well understood by those familiar with thenested type-of parachute to which this invention relates. Located withinthe mouth of the upper portion 20f the container is an annular member 7which may be of wood or metal or may be tubular'to .reduce the welght ofthe device asa Whole and the function of this ring 7 is to maintain themouth of upper portion2 of the 1 con-- tainer rigid when the". parts areassembled as shown "in Fig. 1. and also to permit the plaited and foldedbody 1 of the parachute to emerge from the portion 2; of the containerwithout obstructionwhen theload'is.

applied as will hereinafter'be explained.

The ring 7 may be positively secured to the annular edge of the portion2 of the 7 container butpreferably said portion 2 is constructed tofrictionally engage or grip the ring 7 and hold it in position the ringbeing positively connected to the portion 2 at its apex by a pluralityof tapes or the like 2 secured to the suspension member 6.

The parachute body 1 is compactly plaited and folded and arranged withinthe portion rigging which is composed of tapes arranged in packs two ofwhich latter are indicated at 9. The apex of the body 1 is connected byrupturable connections 10 with the suspension member 6 and the ends ofthe rigging tapes are positively connected with what may be termed thecenter fitting 11 to which one end of the suspension or load rope 12 is2 of the bi-part container together with its 7 here as its constructionandoperat-ion are the harnessl y means ofthe loop 123 rovided for that"purpose. The two portions of the container are retained in operativerelation by the wire or other rupturable connection 14 attachedrespectively to the suspension member 6 and the center fitting 11.,

The type of parachute which I'prefer to employ in connection with theherein described launching device is substantially similar to thatdescribed in my specification of prior date No. 1,291,762 and it istherefore unnecessary to more than briefly refer to it described indetail in the aforesaid prior specification but it may be mentioned thatin employing such type of parachutein 0on nection with the presentinvention I dispense with the means described in the prior specificationfor controlling the speed of descent of the'parachute and its load.

I will now proceed to a consideration of the operation of my im rovedlaunching device. to the aviator'as above described and the rope 5 madefast to the aircraft when a descent is to be made the aviator jumps fromeither side of the cockpit whereupon his weight will be transferred torope 5 connecting the upper portion 2 of the container to the aircraft.

. When the said rope becomes taut the portion 2. I The rigging tapes 9will now be extended against the resistance of the break ing pieces 15which are attached to the ring? and to the toggles 16 whichserve toconnect the riggin tapes 9 with the periphery of the parac ute body 1.These breaking pieces form nopart of the present invention per as asthey are fully described in my The bi-part contalner being securedaforesaid prior specification, but it will be observed from aninspection of Fig. 2 that they have the effect of abstracting theperiphery of the parachute body in a circle thus insuring the entry ofair to the interior of said body to make certain its complete expansion.As these several operations are taking place the ring 7 will have fallenuntil arrested by its supporting tapes 8 and when the breaking pieces 15are extended to their full length they will snap dissynchronously. asthey areof different lengths under the strain exerted upon them by theweight of the load and the rupturable connections 10 at the apex of theparachute body will also snap thereupon the parachute will be free toexpand to its full extent to safely support the aviator in his descentto the ground the upper ortion 2 of the container remaining ,suspen edfrom the aeroplane.

I claim: 7 p

1. A parachute launching device comprising a bi-part flexible containera parachute nested within said container means for posi-r tivelyattaching the upper part of said container to the aircraft means forpositively attaching the lower part of said container to the person ofthe aviator a load rope positively secured to the parachute and to theaviator and means for temporarily maintaining rigid the mouth of theupper portion of said container.

2. A parachute launching device comprising abi-part flexible container aparachute nested within said container means for positively attachingthe upper part of said con-"- tainer to the aircraft means forpositively attaching the lower part of said container to the person ofthe aviator a load rope posi-' tively secured to the parachute andto'the aviator and an annular member detachably supported within themouth portion of said container.

EVERARD RICHARD (IALTHROPL ot the upper

